This story has gotten really wierd if anyone has been following his arrest.. Thanks to Profootballtalk.com for their articles.

In one of the 87 articles in The Nashville Tennessean regarding the arrest of Pacman Jones, Paul Kuharsky makes an oh-by-the-way reference to the fact that Robert Gaddy, the guy who filed the charges against Jones, is "a longtime friend and business associate of Steve McNair," the veteran Tennessee quarterback and the 2003 NFL co-MVP.

Hello? Paul? Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Gaddy made a phone call to McNair before taking action? After all, McNair might understandably be upset with his "longtime friend and business associate" if he were to do something that might hurt the Titans organization.

So if the call was placed, a reasonable inference is that McNair told Gaddy to "go for it."

And if that's true, could it be that more than a few Titans already have concluded that Jones is a wild child who needs to get his wings clipped ASAFP?

Why else would Gaddy be saying that he merely wants to teach Jones "a lesson" -- and why would Gaddy be so careful to note that the situation started because Jones' friends were smoking marijuana in the club, but not Jones?

In our opinion, it's hard to imagine a guy hanging out with a bunch of dudes who are smoking grass and not taking a toke or two. Sure, Jones should steer clear of putting the pot in his piehole because he's subject to unannounced drug testing. (And, apparently, he's never heard that second-hand smoke could cause him to test positive.)

While we're engaged in full-out speculation, could it be that McNair's only request to his longtime friend and business associate was that he refrain from telling the fuzz that Pac was smoking, too?

This way, Jones gets a chance to accelerate the "maturing process" without facing serious consequences.

And if the "maturing process" isn't completed soon, serious consequences could be the next step.

In June, a league source told us that there were rumors of an incident involving Pacman, a hotel room, marijuana, and the police -- and that the team had done its best to keep the incident under wraps.

After we heard this, we placed at least 10 different calls to authorities in Nashville in an effort to find out whether Jones had been arrested for marijuana possession. We learned that he hadn't, so we sat on the story.

So did the Nashville media. Until now. In an article summarizing Jones' history of off-field, no-teeth incidents, The Tennessean reports as follows:

"On the afternoon of June 8, 2005, security officials at the Regal Maxwell House hotel in Nashville were having trouble getting Lewis Kuffuor of Atlanta, age 21, and Leandre Washington, 25, of Morgantown, W. Va., to clear their room after checkout time had passed.

"When Metro Police arrived to investigate, they smelled marijuana and found some on a tabletop in the room.

"Jones was in the room with Kuffuor and Washington and was questioned. Kuffuor, however, took full responsibility for the evidence found and Jones told police in his statement that 'Lewis had the weed.' Kuffuor plead guilty to a misdemeanor possession charge on June 22."

Instead, Jones and Kuffour and Washington (who played football with Jones at West Virginia and was involved in Pacman's pool-cue incident) lapsed into a "Dave's not here" routine with the rent-a-cops, apparently too dumb (or perhaps high) to realize that, at some point, the cops would be coming.

And then, after the security guards banged on the door for a while and after the police showed up, the sh-t was still sitting on top of a table!

In hindsight, Playmakers really was unrealistic in its depiction of real life in the NFL. Based on incidents like this one, Playmakers didn't nearly go far enough.

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- Ricky Williams owes the Miami Dolphins $8.6 million, which is one reason he decided to return to work.

Williams was back in the Miami backfield Monday, two days past the one-year anniversary of his abrupt retirement. A judge last fall found him in breach of contract and ordered him to repay millions in bonus money he had received.

Williams said he decided in February to play this season, and the court ruling was a factor.

``I was looking at my future,'' he said. ``Whether I wanted to go back to school or start a new job, I'd have that settlement chasing me.''

Said Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg: ``It's like the sword of Damocles hanging over someone's head.''

Because Williams sat out last season, he's due only the NFL minimum $540,000 this year, compared with the $3.7 million he passed up in 2004. The team has yet to seek repayment of the $8.6 million, and Steinberg said financial issues regarding Williams' return can be addressed later.

I think Leigh Steinberg might want to rethink the comparision of Ricky Williams to the situation in which Damocles found himself. Seems the opposite of Williams.

Williams was rich but wanted to be poor. Until he found out being poor sucks. Damocles was poor but wanted to be rich. Until he found out being rich sucked.

Here is the story.

There once was a king whose name was Dionysius. He was so unjust and cruel that he won himself the name of tyrant. He knew that almost everybody hated him, and so he was always in dread lest some one should take his life.
____But he was very rich, and he lived in a fine palace where there were many beautiful and costly things, and he was waited upon by a host of servants who were always ready to do his bidding. One day a friend of his, whose name was Damocles, said to him -
____"How happy you must be! You have here everything that any man could wish."
____"Perhaps you would like to trade places with me," said the tyrant.
____"No, not that, O king!" said Damocles; "but I think that, if I could only have your riches and your pleasures for one day, I should not want any greater happiness."
____"Very well," said the tyrant. "You shall have them."
____And so, the next day, Damocles was led into the palace, and all the servants were bidden to treat him as their master. He sat down at a table in the banquet hall, and rich foods were placed before him. Nothing was wanting that could give him pleasure. There were costly wines, and beautiful flowers, and rare perfumes, and delightful music. He rested among soft cushions, and felt that he was the happiest man in all the world.
____Then he chanced to raise his eyes toward the ceiling. What was it that was dnagling above him, with it's point almost touching his head? It was a sharp sword, and it was hung by only a single horsehair. What if the hair should break? There was danger every moment that it would do so.
____The smile faded from the lips of Damocles. His face became very pale. His hands trembled. He wanted no more food; he could drink no more wine; he took no more delight in the music. He longed to be out of the palace, and away, he cared not where.
____"What is the matter?" said the tyrant.
____"That sword! That sword!" cried Damocles. He was so badly frightened that he dared not move.
____"Yes," said Dionysius, "I know there is a sword above your head, and that it may fall at any moment. But why should that trouble you? I have a sword over my head all the time. I am every moment in dread lest something may cause me to lose my life."
____"Let me go," said Damocles. "I now see that I was mistaken, and that the rich and powerful are not so happy as they seem. Let me go back to my old home in the poor little cottage amon the mountains."
____And so long as he lived, he never again wanted to be rich, or to change places with the king.

A new possibility has emerged in the ongoing saga of injured pitcher Adam Eaton.

Eaton pitched in the Petco Park bullpen before Tuesday's game. But he threw only fastballs and changeups, and the Padres are unsure whether he'll be able to throw curveballs again this season because of a strained tendon in his right middle finger.

Such a limitation would probably keep him from returning to the rotation, but not from contributing as a reliever.

"My sense is, if Eaton doesn't start, he's going to help in the bullpen," Towers said.

Eaton is open to the idea of coming out of the bullpen, which he has done only once in his baseball career: for Philadelphia's Single-A team in 1998.

"I'd rather be in the bullpen than not pitch at all," Eaton said. "If I'm going to be a two-pitch pitcher, it's going to be tough to be a starter."

Eaton is scheduled for another bullpen session on Friday, but he doesn't know if or when he'll be able to throw breaking pitches. Manager Bruce Bochy estimated that Eaton is about a month from returning to the mound.

What happended to the Kings of a few years ago that seemed to have this chemistry thing somewhat figured out... We all know what new leaf The Bonzi is turning over... I would of paid 10x's the money to watch Portland practice rather than attend a game a few years ago...

I'd been dispatched to write a column about Bonzi Wells' first day on the new job, and bumped into him as he was arriving and looking for the Memphis Grizzlies' locker room.

Already, Wells seemed like a refreshed, changed man.

"Hi Bonzi," I said.

"You're a punk (expletive) (expletive)," he said.

What followed was a brief conversation about journalism and basketball. And Wells explained how he was going to turn over a new leaf and prove to everyone that Portland -- "not Bonzi" -- was the problem.

Wells finished last season suspended by Memphis coach Mike Fratello, who advised Wells that if he tried to come to the Grizzlies' final game of the season he would be arrested for trespassing.

Now Wells is being traded to Sacramento as part of a deal that will send the Kings' Bobby Jackson and Utah's Kirk Snyder, Raul Lopez and Curtis Borchardt to Memphis.

An acceptable risk, Sacramento is thinking.

A wonderful trade, Memphis is thinking.

Hey, we only got Wesley Person and a draft pick, you're thinking.

The temptation will be to hold up what Grizzlies President Jerry West and general manager Dick Versace just received in exchange for Wells and compare it to the Trail Blazers got for Wells in Dec. 2003. The temptation will be to say something like, "Man, we knew that West was good, but. . . ."

But you just can't do that to yourself.

The trade back then wasn't about talent. It wasn't even about a franchise giving up on a young, talented player. It was simply about cutting away rotting bait. And even though Blazers management has made mistakes, jettisoning Wells wasn't one of them.

To understand what the Blazers were thinking 19 months ago, you're going to have to come with me into the concrete tunnel of general manager John Nash's mind.

Back then, Nash still was new on the job. He was under building pressure to do something. And Wells, prone to spitting and gesturing, had just unleashed a tirade for the fourth time at then-coach Maurice Cheeks.

The Cheeks-Wells relationship was irreparable, and the whole league knew it. The Blazers were losing games. And season-ticket holders and corporate sponsors were fed up with Wells.

Nash was told to trade Wells, but he also was under a directive to not take any long-term contracts in return. As a result, Nash basically had zero leverage and minimal flexibility when he was dispatched to make his first big trade.

Nash will tell you that Dallas discussed getting involved with a "bigger version" of the eventual trade with Memphis. But that three-team deal would have stuck Portland with Raef LaFrentz's contract, which even now still has four years and roughly $46 million left on it.

The team was left with three choices: A) Deal with Memphis; B) Deal with Memphis and Dallas; or C) Deal with Bonzi.

They chose A -- the wise choice.

The Blazers drafted Sergei Monia in 2004 to complete the Wells trade. And if Monia never plays a single important minute, the trade was still a good one because it wiped away Wells' tantrums, influence and salary.

Maybe you wish Wells finally would understand that the changing scenery isn't just a new chance to exploit a fresh pack of suckers. If so, you're wasting your time. Because he believes "Turn over a new leaf" means "It'll take them 18 months to figure me out."

The day Wells was traded, teammate Rasheed Wallace turned to him at Blazers' practice and sang the television theme song to "The Jeffersons."

The Pistons drafted Bonzi with the 11th pick of the first round in '98, worked him out once, then shipped him to Portland for a conditional first round pick, considerably later in the first round than the lottery.

At one point in the summer before the 2002-03 season, rumors were flying around Detroit that the Pistons were about to trade Jerry Stackhouse to the Blazers for Bonzi and Damon Stoudamire. Joe Dumars didn't make the deal, ending up with Richard Hamilton for Stackhouse while signing Chauncey Billups as their point guard.

The Blazers then essentially dumped Wells, letting Memphis grab him for pennies on the dollar.

Now Memphis is getting rid of Bonzi as well. But Jerry West actually found not one, but two teams that were willing to give him something for an overpaid veteran malcontent. No question -- Bobby Jackson hasn't been healthy in years -- his time on the IL correlating with the Kings fall from prominence in the West.

But Bonzi's numbers have fallen over the past three seasons -- his shooting percentage, rebounds, assists and trips to the free throw line are all way down, a clear indication that his current game is to stand on the perimeter and jack up jumpers. I'm not convinced that is what Sacramento needs to get over the hump.

Of course, all this Bonzi discussion is just another example of how Jerry West manouvers his way through the minefield of NBA trades better than any other GM in the league this side of Dumars.

And we haven't even touched on Utah here, in a deal that could go down as one of the worst in recent history if Kirk Snyder OR Raul Lopez OR Curtis Borchardt become decent players in this league. Lopez has had multiple knee surgeries since being drafted in '01, not likely to become the player that Utah expected. Borchardt was drafted 18th by Orlando (far too high, I thought at the time) and has shown very little in his first two seasons in the league.

But Kirk Snyder is a different story. He was a star for the Wolfpack, leading them to the Sweet 16, and he had a decent rookie campaign with Utah playing for a coach who is notoriously hard on rookies. He'll fit right into Bonzi's spot at the two guard coming off the bench, with considerably more upside.

Meanwhile, the Jazz faithful will be rewarded for their support by getting to enjoy Greg Oostertag's style of basketball for another few seasons.....

She won a bracelet and $168,000 in the World Series this year in a Woman's only event. Crazy unrelated story about her is that she was married to Sam Simon one of the producers of the Simpsons. They are now divorsed. He is kind of a semi regular on Howard Stern. He called in one time Tilly was on the Stern show promoting the "Seed of Chucky" movie she was in. Simon said that she gets half of all his Simpsons money despite the fact that She told him NOT to do it. That the show was crap and people woudn't watch it. She wanted him to focus his talents elsewhere.
She has gotten 20+ million from Simon from his production of the Simpsons. She now is one of the voices on the "The Family Guy" cartoon.

For hours on end, the woman sitting near the poker pit at Binion's during the final day of the World Series of Poker tournament sat out of the limelight, willingly letting her boyfriend bask in its glow.

Wearing a tank top that read, "My boyfriend can kick your ass," actress Jennifer Tilly was just another poker fan that night, watching along with the crowd as her significant other, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, beat the stuffing out of a "poker robot" programmed to play a strangely human-like game.

Observers who know Tilly from her roles in "Liar, Liar" and "Bullets Over Broadway" would have had a hard time figuring out who was the celebrity that night.

She was largely left alone by a crowd that was glued to a nearby plasma screen showing computerized poker hands. A few men ventured toward Tilly shyly, asking her to sign a recently published photo of herself in a poker magazine.

At the WSOP, the poker players were clearly bigger stars than the celebrities. James Woods, Tobey Mcguire, Ben Affleck, Tilly -- the crowds around them were half the size of the crowds around Negreanu, Hellmuth etc.

As the article above stated, a 'B' list celeb like Tilly could stand around in relative peace and quiet, while her celebrity poker playing boyfriend (Phil Laak) was constantly besieged.

Martinez apparently has been nursing a foot injury. Mets broadcasters recently mentioned on the air that Doug Mientkiewicz - miked for Fox's telecast on Saturday - spoke about how Pedro had difficulty covering first because of the injury, the NY Daily News reports. Mike Cameron, in a post-game interview following the Mets' win over the Braves on July 17 when Martinez left the game after 61 pitches, remarked how he thought Pedro left early because of a foot injury but manager Willie Randolph never mentioned this when he gave a reason why he pulled his ace. If this is true, it somehwat explains why Martinez's fastball has only been in the mid-80s, since he may not be able to push off with his drive leg to get the needed power to propel his fastball into its customary normal low-90s range.

He went through the same type of deal in May with a bad hip. He visually wasn't right then the news broke. He took a cortisone shot and was good to go at that point, but it all does add up eventually as the season wears.

"Jason is a good catcher, but I didn't steal off of him," Freel said. "You don't steal off the catcher, you steal off the pitcher. (Jeff) Weaver was pretty long in his delivery, the same with Brazoban. So you've just got to take advantage, be smart and make sure you don't run into an out."

Phillips was a lot harder on himself than Freel was. "It comes down to me. It's reflected on me," Phillips said. "I've been working on the exchange from glove to hand and getting the feel of a good throw, which has been tough. It's something I have to improve on. I've just got to get better. If the pitcher isn't conducive to stopping the running game, then I've got to make up the difference and stop them somehow."

The announcers were hard on Phillip's, with little mention of the pitcher's delivery. Teams likely taking note that Dodgers catcher Jason Phillips has thrown out just 12 of 82 baserunners, after going 19-for-61 last year with the New York Mets.

LA Angels' Chone Figgins is one of the fastest players in the American League, and the utilityman is on pace to steal 53 bags in only 63 attempts. Figgins is one of only five Major Leaguers on pace to steal 50 or more bases this season, making him one of the game's foremost practitioners of an increasingly difficult trade. "You have to get good reads and get good leads," Figgins said. "I think more times than not, when basestealers get thrown out, it's because of leads."

Many burners who fizzle in the stolen-base department struggle to get consistent jumps, getting picked off one time and being thrown out by two steps the next time. "You've got good pitchers out there," Figgins said. "They're teaching pitchers to vary their times to the plate, to pick off a lot, pitch out, throw a lot of pitches away to where the catcher still has a chance to throw runners out."

Through July 22nd, Figgins had stolen more bases himself (32) than five Major League teams. But his outstanding stats don't seem quite as out of place on the Angels, who have eight different players on pace for 10 or more steals this season. The Angels won six of nine after the all-star break, despite batting .218 with a .277 slugging percentage.

Just one more reason to bet against Wisconsin early and often this year -- this is a team and a program headed in the wrong direction right now....

I give Alvarez all the credit in the world for breathing life into a dead program (the Badgers were consistent bottom feeders in the Big 10 throughout the 80's). The question becomes, how far back do they slide now that their Rose Bowl seasons are fading in the rear view mirror (last trip to Pasadena came after the '99 season)

'05 season to be Alvarez's last as coach
Bielema picked as successor; Alvarez to continue as athletic director

Madison - Barry Alvarez, head football coach and athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, announced today that he will coach one more season - his 16th with the Badgers - before turning over the reins of the team to defensive coordinator Bret Bielema.

In 15 seasons as the Badgers' coach, Barry Alvarez has compiled a 108-70-4 record.

Alvarez, 58, will continue on as athletic director, a job he added to his duties before last season after the retirement of Pat Richter.

Bielema, 35, came to the Badgers before last season from Kansas State, where he served as co-defensive coordinator from 2002-'03.

Last season, Bielema's defense led the Badgers to a 9-0 start before faltering to a 9-3 finish. In the first nine games, UW led the nation in scoring defense (9.1 points per game) and allowed just nine touchdowns. Wisconsin ended up fifth in the nation in pass efficiency defense (100.1 rating), sixth in scoring defense (15.4 points per game), seventh in passing yardage allowed (167.2 average) and ninth in total defense (291.2 yards per game).

Before his tenure at Kansas State, Bielema spent nine seasons (1993-'01) as an assistant coach at Iowa under Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz. He also served as the Hawkeyes’ assistant recruiting coordinator and assistant special teams coordinator.

"I couldn't be more convinced that Brett Bielema is the right man to replace me," Alvarez said. "Brett above all is enthusiastic and knoweldgeable about the game of football. He's been around success all his live. ... I feel he's a rising star in our profession."

During his news conference at the Kohl Center today, Alvarez recounted his tenure so far in Madison, his voice at times shaky with emotion.

"About 15 years ago, I looked at UW as a sleeping giant," Alvarez said. "I was familiar with the campus, the community, the stadium, and I felt that we could put these pieces together and build a program.

Alvarez, hired by Richter in 1990 to breathe life into UW's moribund football program, has posted a record of 108-70-4 in 15 seasons, recording more victories than any coach in UW history.

The highlights of Alvarez's tenure have been his three Big Ten titles (1993, '98 and '99) and his 3-0 mark in the Rose Bowl.

When the Badgers beat Stanford, 17-9, in the 2000 Rose Bowl, UW became the first Big Ten program to win consecutive Rose Bowl titles.

Such achievements didn't seem possible after the Badgers finished 2-9 in 1989, Don Morton's third and final season as head coach.

The Badgers had gone 6-27 overall and 3-21 in the Big Ten in three seasons under Morton. Home attendance was so bad the actual figures could have been compiled by ushers and vendors, who had little work to do each Saturday.

Average home attendance in 1989 was 41,734 fans. And that figure was inflated by a season-high crowd of 62,402 fans, many of whom traveled from Iowa, to see the Hawkeyes play.

With Alvarez leading the way, the Badgers have won three conference championships and UW officials are on the verge of completing the renovation of Camp Randall Stadium that will make the facility among the best in the nation.

UW's last 75 home games have been played in front of crowds of at least 70,000 fans.

Complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.

[quote title=Teddy_Covers wrote on Thu, 28 July 2005 15:46]Just one more reason to bet against Wisconsin early and often this year -- this is a team and a program headed in the wrong direction right now....

Hmmm, ok I will take your smack talking wager Teddy Bear We will use stat fox final line to determine the spreads? Sound fair?
Regular season games only, a tie is a tie. Loser pays for the other on a night out in Vegas next year when I come to town. Also, if you lose you will have to wear a CHEESEHEAD(something that makes me want to puke) around town the entire night. If I lose I will wear a T shirt that says, "TEDDY COVERS IS MY IDOL". Unless you can think of something better.

"After not accepting a trade to the Balitmore Orioles, because of his family concerns and his love for the city of San diego, he has now decided that those concerns are bunk and he can accept a trade to Texas."

He had no choice in this matter Donnie. He couldn't veto a trade to Texas.

VV-
I know he had that eight team list as a provision in his contract, but I was under the impression that Nevin could block any trade because he is a ten and five man. Ten years in the league, five with the Padres.

Deion could wear a different suit every day for the next five years and he would never wear the same suit twice.

From Peter King's Yahoo.com column:

I'm in the lobby of the Ravens' team hotel here in Westminster on Sunday night and two 40ish men are sitting at a table a short spiral away with fabric samples and big binders. One of the guys was David Corbitt, who tells me he makes men's suits. He's Deion Sanders' tailor.

We get to talking, and this might be the stat of my summer. Deion, playing beyond the twilight with the Ravens, has 1,900 suits. His closet at home is 2,500 square feet.